


To the Boy Who Reads by The Window

by EgoStorm



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, On AFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-05-24 05:39:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6143260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EgoStorm/pseuds/EgoStorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mingyu came to the library to study, but couldn't help but stare at the beautiful boy reading by the window</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. To the Boy Who Reads by the Window

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Wonwoo's description of his ideal type... someone elegantly reading by the window

Mingyu was never one who liked to study, and even if he did, he would barely skim the pages of his textbook before calling it quits. It wasn’t until he got 15 points on an exam that he decided it was time to change his ways. There were too many distractions at home, so he didn’t have the confidence that he would be able to study well there. Therefore he came to the conclusion that he had to study at a library.

 

He walked up the stairs and over to the entrance. He placed a hand on the door to push it open. It ended up being a pull door, but no one noticed his mistake. He was flustered, and almost intimidated by this building he never stepped foot in before. It was very cool inside.. too cool. The air conditioning was strong and gave him slight shivers. And it smelled like books. Not a bad smell, but something he wasn’t entirely used to.

 

Walking past the towering bookshelves, he made his way to where the desks were. It was around half-full. In the left corner, there were students messing around, throwing paper airplanes at each other. They were obviously not here to study, so Mingyu looked in the other direction, hoping it would be a better environment for studying. It was. There were much less people on the right side of the room for some reason, and most of them were buried in books or scribbling notes. His eyes looked farther down, all the way to the end of the room, and that’s when he saw him.

 

A male student, seated right next to the large window, silently reading a book. The light scattered onto him, highlighting the delicate features of his face. His dark hair, slightly messy. His slender fingers, holding onto the pages of his book. His collarbones, peeking from his sweater. Mingyu couldn’t help but stare at the boy who looked like a picture. He watched as the beautiful figure flipped the pages, and subtly changed  the angle of his face to better read the page he was on.

 

“Excuse me.”

 

Someone bumped into into Mingyu, causing him to drop his large and heavy textbooks. They hit the tile with a loud, echoing thud, and the whole room looked up in response… including the boy by the window. Mingyu glanced over at the boy as he looked up. While most people proceeded to what they were doing before Mingyu’s interruption, the boy kept staring. The two made eye contact until Mingyu looked away, too embarrassed with himself. He frantically picked up his books and turned around to go back the way he came.

 

He never studied that night. Instead, he thought back to the incident at the library, messing with his hair in frustration as he sat on his bed. He felt utterly stupid, and tried to think of a way to redeem himself, but failed in thinking of any solutions. He fell asleep wondering if the boy would be in the library the next day.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

He was. Seating in the same spot as yesterday, reading the same book in a further chapter. Mingyu didn’t have the courage to go up to him, so he hid behind a bookcase. For four hours. He pretended to be reading a book, which was randomly taken off the shelf, in order to not seem suspicious. The boy finished his book, closing it shut. Mingyu saw a slight smile appear. Ah, it must have had a happy ending. Mingyu saw the boy starting to pack his things, and figured it was time to leave, or else he would get caught.

 

Wait, why am I doing this? Doesn’t this count as stalker behavior? Mingyu denied this. There was no way he was a stalker. He briskly walked to the exit so that the boy would not see him. Only, he forgot to replace the book he took off the shelf. A loud blaring caught everyone’s attention to Mingyu, who had just passed the security gates with said book in his hands. Unfortunately, it also caught the attention of the boy Mingyu was staring at for the past four hours. They made eye contact again this time, and Mingyu felt his face heating up. He quickly shoved the book into a random passerby’s hands and scurried out the door.

 

When he got home, he went upstairs to his bedroom and under the covers, hiding his face from the world. Ugh, I’m so stupid. So, so stupid. He thought that he was embarrassed yesterday, but yesterday’s event had nothing on today’s. He was too ashamed to ever leave the house again.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Except he did leave the house. The very next day in fact. To continue his observations as a not-a-stalker. He hid behind a different bookcase, just in case someone remembered him from the day before, and instead of taking a book off of a shelve, he brought one of his lighter textbooks. He flipped through the pages, hoping that somehow he could retain some of the information by doing so. He turned his attention to what he really came for. The beautiful boy by the window.

 

The boy was reading something again. It was a new book since he finished the one he had yesterday. He was as elegant as ever. It was a sight Mingyu couldn’t get enough of. This time as he was reading, he looked distressed. A couple of times, he raised the back his hand to his lips. The sweater that was too long for him encased the majority of his hand, only showing his fingers. He looked as if he would cry. So it’s a sad book this time, huh? And Mingyu stood where he was, watching the boy, until he was finished with his book. It was a much smaller book than the previous one, so it only took him three hours to read the whole thing. He closed the book and sighed. Then he looked up, right at Mingyu.

 

Mingyu didn’t do anything to humiliate himself today, but the two still ended up making eye contact. Mingyu panicked and made a dash for the door, bumping into people along the way and not bothering to apologise for doing so. He didn’t know why he was running. He didn’t know why he felt so nervous. He just knew he needed to get out of there.

 

Mingyu knew something had to change. He couldn’t just keep going to the library to watch the reading boy all day. He had to talk to him. But he didn’t know if he would have the courage to go up to him. That night, instead of being huddled under his blanket, he was on his desk. The desk that was supposed to be for studying and had long been untouched. He devised a plan to talk to the boy, but he would need the help of a friend.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Mingyu walked through the library door with his friend, Seungkwan. Seungkwan was known to be dramatic, and was a perfect partner for Mingyu’s plan. Mingyu went to hide by a bookcase, as usual, while Seungkwan made his way over to the desks with his books and a disposable cup of warm coffee. He walked straight over and sat adjacent to the beautiful boy, who looked up for a brief moment to look at his new neighbor, before continuing his book. Seungkwan set down the coffee, near the edge of the table, then quickly opened his book, “accidently” knocking the coffee on the boy’s pants.

 

“Oh no! I’m so sorry! How could I be so careless? Silly me, I’m such a klutz. Come with me, I’ll help you wash that off.”

 

Seungkwan grabbed the boy’s arm and dragged him away from the desk in the direction of the bathroooms. When the two were inside the men’s room, Mingyu ran over to the desk they occupied earlier and slipped an envelope in the book the boy was reading. He left just as quickly as he came, and exited the library. He stood by the rails, now waiting for Seungkwan to come out. When he did, the two high fived for successfully completing the plan, then walked home together.

 

“What was in that letter anyways?”

 

“Oh, nothing.”

 

“Come on, I helped you out, didn’t I? The least you could do is tell me what was inside!”

 

“Well… it was a love letter..”  
  
“Wow, I had no idea” Seungkwan said ever so sarcastically.

 

“Shut up. That’s all you get to know.”

 

“Hmph! You’re such a sour pickle…”

 

“Don’t be such a drama queen. Oh.. too late”

 

Seungkwan jumped up to force Mingyu into a brotherly headlock and noogied his head as a response.

 

“Hey!”

 

“That’s what you get for not telling me.”

 

They walked home, and during the walk Mingyu didn’t reveal a single word written in the letter.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

To the Boy Who Reads by the Window,

 

I won’t tell you my name, because I don’t know yours, but I’ll get straight to the point…

 

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

As beautiful as they are,

They’ve got nothing on you.

 

I like you. Please be mine.

 

Sincerely

The Boy Who Watches from a Distance

 

P.S. my number is xxx-xxx-xxxx


	2. Extra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just the story from Wonwoo's POV

Wonwoo loved to read. It was his favorite past-time since he was young, and nothing could stop him from reading every day. Books were the only thing he ever asked for during holidays, birthdays, and random days he wanted a new book. While most kids his age would ask for toys or snacks, Wonwoo asked for books. As he read more and more, his parents finally decided it was time to issue him a library card. Buying so many books so quickly was not good for their wallets, and having so many books at home were starting to threaten the amount of living space they had. And so, at the age of 8, Wonwoo had his very first library card.

 

Now that he was older, lots of things changed. The school he went to, the friends he had, and even the house he lived in was different than before. The one thing that hadn’t changed, was his immense love for books. He visited the library every day and claimed a spot by the window. The same spot he has sat in since childhood in the same library he first visited as a child. It was his favorite spot for some reason. The lighting was always nice, and he felt comfortable being able to look outside. He felt more at home there than in his own home. The smell of books was always welcoming, and there was nothing more pleasant than feeling the pages of a book. Nothing could be more interesting than the hundreds of thousands of stories bound in them. Or so he thought.

 

It was just like any other day. Wonwoo finished school and headed straight for the library and settled into his spot next to the window. He opened the book he was currently on and began swiftly reading the words, letting the world inside the book enter into his mind. He was reading an intense part of the storyline, in which a bomb goes off, when he heard a loud ‘bang’ that made him wonder if somehow the world in his book became intertwined with the real world. He looked up to see what caused the noise, and that’s when he saw him.

 

There was a tall boy, who could have easily passed for a model, who suddenly bent down to pick up the textbooks he dropped. His rich chocolate hair swept over his eyes as he struggled to gather his belongings as quickly as possible. It took him a couple of tries, since his haste caused him to drop a few of his textbooks when he reached for another. Wonwoo couldn’t help but watch as the unexpectedly clumsy boy finally succeeded. Once he did, he looked up, straight at Wonwoo. Neither looked away for some time. Wonwoo felt something stir inside him. Perhaps the tall boy did too? Just then, the boy turned around and bolted out of the library. He wanted to get up to follow the boy, but couldn’t. Instead, he stared that the spot he last saw the boy until he realized that the boy wasn’t coming back. He closed his book, no longer interested in the storyline, and headed home.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was the day after Wonwoo’s silent, but eventful encounter. As usual, he went to the library to read at his usual spot by the window, but despite everything being as it usually is, something felt different today. There was a bit of excitement inside of him, but it wasn’t because he was eager to find out what happens next in his book. No. He was excited from anticipation. From the possibility that the boy from yesterday might come again. He opened his book and started reading from where he stopped previously, but made sure to pay attention to his surroundings instead of being swallowed by the book. He didn’t want to miss the boy if he happened to come.

 

He didn’t. The boy from before came again. He stood out so much that Wonwoo didn’t even have to look up to know that he was there. He wondered where he would sit. Perhaps he would finish his reading session early to talk to him. He had the idea to “finish” when the other boy looked like he was done, rather than staying late as usual. Unfortunately, his plan would never be carried out, because the boy never sat down. He was by a bookcase, reading something off of the shelf.

 

Wonwoo wasn’t sure of what to do now, so he just continued to read. However, he unintentionally got swept into the story. He did love reading after all. Before he knew it, he was down to the last page. It wasn’t until then that he realized that he forgot about the boy. He mentally scolded himself for being stupid as he read the last paragraph. He closed the book, but as he did, he could see  from the corner of his eye that the tall boy was still by the bookcase. The very same spot, in fact. Wonwoo smiled, relieved that he was still there, and because he somehow thought it was cute that he hadn’t moved the entire time. He must have been there for hours.

 

Suddenly, the boy started walked toward the exit. Wonwoo looked up, wondering why. He watched as he walked at a fast pace, but just before the boy reached the doors, a loud alarm sounded. The boy set off the security alarm. The boy looked back, directly at Wonwoo again, and turned a deep shade of red. He then thrusted the book he was holding to someone’s hands and left instantly. Like the day before, Wonwoo was left staring that the space where the boy was before. Of course this time, he knew for sure the boy wouldn’t come back.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Wonwoo sat down in his seat by the window, but didn’t immediately start his next book. He stared out the window for a while. It’s been a long time since he was so unmotivated to read. If he opened the book, he was sure that he could easily get into it, but for some reason, he just didn’t feel like it. What was wrong with him? Maybe he was getting sick? He looked at the cover of his book. Love Sick. He turned the book around so that he wouldn’t see the title. There was no way he was love sick. Was there?

 

An hour and a half had passed, and by now he was in the middle chapters of his book. It was a much more gripping storyline than he had anticipated. Not to mention heartbreaking. He wondered if love always brought pain like it did for the main character. He found himself empathizing with her, and felt as if he understood her pain, despite never having been in love himself.

 

He got through the entirety of the book, all the way to its bittersweet ending. It was more than a satisfying read. But then he remembered the boy. He had forgotten all about him. Had he stopped by today?

 

Wonwoo looked over at the bookcase where he saw the boy yesterday to find that he was there again today. It seems as if he were looking at him before Wonwoo had even looked up. He dashed out of the library without hesitation, and Wonwoo started to wonder if there was something meaningful behind the three days in a row that the two shared eye contact. If only he could approach him somehow without him running away.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Today, Wonwoo was determined. He would talk to the boy by the bookcase, even if it meant he had to chase after him, as embarrassing as that may be. He sat in his seat and pulled out a book he already read before, in order to not be distracted by the plot. An easy read. Nothing too heavy.

 

He was onto the fifth chapter when someone pulled up a seat right next to him, and Wonwoo looked up to see who it was. It wasn’t who he hoped it would be, but then again he didn’t think the boy would sit next to him anyways. Who was this kind, and why did he choose to sit here? There were plenty of other empty seats. Wonwoo brushed aside his thoughts and continued reading, while the stranger places a coffee cup on the table and opened his book. Only, he was overly excited in opening his book that he spilled his coffee all over Wonwoo.

 

Wonwoo was about to panic and jump up, but… the coffee wasn’t hot?

 

“Oh no! I’m so sorry! How could I be so careless? Silly me, I’m such a klutz. Come with me, I’ll help you wash that off,” said the stranger before pulling him up and taking him to the bathroom. Wonwoo expected him to try washing it off with water, but surprisingly, he had a stain remover ready with him. This kid was really prepared for anything, wasn’t he?

 

When the coffee was blotted away and the stain removed, the two went back to where they were sitting before. Wonwoo sat down, but the boy did not. He retrieved all of his belongings and was ready to leave.

 

“I’ll see you around!” he exclaimed before prancing out of the library.

 

“What a strange kid,” Wonwoo mumbled to himself.

 

He looked around before going back to reading to see if perhaps the tall boy was here again. To his disappointment, the spot by the bookcase was empty. He turned back to his book, but noticed an envelope in it. Did the strange kid from before leave it? He turned the envelope to see that it was addressed to _The Boy Who Reads by the Window_. In other words, it was addressed to him. He felt his cheeks flush in hopes that it would be by who he thought it would be from. That was it. Wonwoo was done reading. He had to get home to read the letter. Immediately. He packed his things and rode the bus home. He wished the bus could go faster, but of course, it was running on a timely schedule.

 

When Wonwoo was finally home and in his room, he locked his door and sat down on his bed. He could feel himself trembling from nervousness. Even though he was in such a rush to get home, he couldn’t bring himself to rip open the letter. He slowly lifted the flap of the envelope and pulled out the neatly folded paper inside. He ran his finger across the edges and then unfolded the paper. It was a short note.

 

_To the Boy Who Reads by the Window,_

_I won’t tell you my name, because I don’t know yours, but I’ll get straight to the point…_

_Roses are red,_

_Violets are blue,_

_As beautiful as they are,_

_They’ve got nothing on you._

_I like you. Please be mine._

_Sincerely_

_The Boy Who Watches from a Distance_

_P.S. my number is xxx-xxx-xxxx_

 

Wonwoo could feel his entire face burning, and even though he was alone, he tried to contain his smile. He read the note over and over and over again, making sure he wasn’t hallucinating. It was real. The tall boy gave him a love letter, and Wonwoo was on cloud nine. He grabbed his phone and created a new message, but didn’t know what to say. How should he start?

 

After typing, deleting, and repeating several times, Wonwoo wrote his message. Now all he had to do was press send. His finger hovered over the ‘send’ button. His heart was racing. His mind was blank. Should he send it? Should he not? Should he send it? He gathered up all of his courage, more than he ever knew to have. He took a deep breath. His finger inched closer and closer to the button.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 

He looked at his phone screen.

 

_Message sent to xxx-xxx-xxxx_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this ending sucks.. this was supposed to be an extra


End file.
